Abstract
For the first time, a microbial fuel cell has been developed using an acidophile, Acidiphilium cryptum, as the anode biocatalyst. Electricity production using its natural electron acceptor, iron, as the electron mediating agent at pH values ≤4.0 was demonstrated. Accumulation of Fe(III) at the electrode, however, restricted current output. The combination of nitrilotriacetic acid and Phenosafranin as electron mediators increased the power output to 12.7 mW/m2 in a two-chamber air-sparged fuel cell. Direct electron transfer from the microorganisms to the anode was also investigated but was not detected under the conditions studied.
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Acknowledgments
This research was sponsored by the Laboratory Directed Research and Development Program of Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), managed by UT-Battelle, LLC, for the US Department of Energy under Contract No. DE AC05-00OR22725. The authors would like to thank Choo Hamilton for technical assistance with A. cryptum and Barbara Evans and Babu Raman for reviewing the manuscript. S. C. would like to acknowledge partial financial support from Oak Ridge Associated Universities.
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The submitted manuscript has been authored by a contractor of the US Government under contract No. DE-AC05-00OR22725. Accordingly, the US Government retains a nonexclusive, royalty-free license to publish or reproduce the published form of this contribution, or allow others to do so, for US Government purposes.
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Borole, A.P., O’Neill, H., Tsouris, C. et al. A microbial fuel cell operating at low pH using the acidophile Acidiphilium cryptum . Biotechnol Lett 30, 1367–1372 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10529-008-9700-y
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10529-008-9700-y